This invention relates to an information processing apparatus and method and a providing medium, and more particularly to an information processing apparatus and method and a providing medium by which editing of routing for transmitting an event between nodes is performed when contents of a VRML which is used for representation of a three-dimensional imaginary space are produced.
It is known that, in the Internet which is a computer network built up in a worldwide scale, the VRML (Virtual Reality Modeling Language) is commonly used as a describing language by which three-dimensional information can be handled uniformly, making use of a framework of the WWW (World Wide Web) which provides various information.
As an information providing system which can be used on the Internet, the WWW developed by the CERN (European Center for Nuclear Research) of Switzerland is known. The WWW allows browsing of information of a text, an image, sound and so forth in the form of a hypertext, and asynchronously transfers information stored in a WWW server to a terminal such as a personal computer in accordance with a protocol called HTTP (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol).
A WWW server is composed of the HTTP, server software called daemon and HTML files in which hypertext information is stored. It is to be noted that the daemon is a background program for executing management and processing when operation is performed on the UNIX. The hypertext information is represented using a describing language called HTML (HyperText Markup Language). In a description of a hypertext by the HTML, a logical structure of a sentence is represented by a format designation called tags placed between "&lt;" and "&gt;". Description of a link to other information is performed using link information called anchor. In order to designate a location where information is present using the anchor, a character train called URL (Uniform Resource Locator) is used.
The protocol to be used to transfer a file described in the HTML is the HTTP. The HTTP has a function of transmitting a request for information from a client to a WWW server and transferring hypertext information of an HTML file to the client.
The WWW browser is used frequently for an environment in which the WWW is utilized. The WWW browser is a client software, such as the Netscape Navigator (trademark of Netscape Communications, a company of United States). The WWW Browser can be used to browse files such as the so-called homepages on WWW servers on the Internet, which are spread in a worldwide scale and conform to the URL, and allows access to various information sources of the WWW by successively tracing homepages between which a link is extended commonly known as net surfing.
In recent years, specifications of a three-dimensional graphics describing language called VRML which further expands the WWW to allow description of a three-dimensional imaginary space or setting of a link of a hypertext to an object drawn in three-dimensional graphics so that WWW servers can be successively accessed tracing such links have been developed, and a VRML browser for displaying a three-dimensional space described based on the specifications of the VRML has been developed.
Details of the VRML are disclosed in such documents as, for example, Mark Pesce, "VRML: Browsing and Building Cyberspace", 1995 New Readers Publishing ISBN 1-56205-498-8; Koichi Matsuda and Yasuaki Honda, "Latest Trend of VRML and CyberPassage", bit (Kyoritsu Publishing), 1996, Vol. 28, No. 7, pp29-36, No. 8, pp57-65, No. 9, pp29-36 and No. 10, pp49-58, and so forth.
Further, the official and complete specifications of "The Virtual Reality Modeling Language Version 2.0, ISO/IEC CD 14772" are laid open in "http://www.vrml.org/Specifications/VRML2.0/FINAL/spec/index.html", and the Japanese version of the same is disclosed in http://www.webcity.co.jp/info/andoh/VRML/vrml2.0/spec-jp/index.html".
Further, for example, software for a browser for the VRML 2.0 and a shared server called "Community Place (trade mark) Browser/Bureau" has been developed and put on the market by the assignee of the present patent application, Sony Corporation, and the .beta. version (temporary provision version) of the above software can be downloaded from the homepage http://vs.sony co.jp through the Internet.
With the VRML 2.0 described above, it is possible to describe and represent an autonomous behavior of an object in a three-dimensional imaginary space. If it is tried to produce VRML contents using the VRML 2.0 with which an object moves around dynamically in a three-dimensional imaginary space, the following operation process is followed. It is to be noted that, in the following description, an aggregate of VRML files, script files and so forth for realizing a series of behaviors of an object in an imaginary space is called VRML contents.
In the following, a series of operations for producing such VRML contents is described.
A model production operation is an operation of describing a shape, a position and so forth of an object (model) to be arranged in an imaginary space in accordance with the VRML 2.0 to produce a basic VRML file.
Description of a sensor node is an operation of adding to a VRML file a description of a sensor node such as TouchSensor which generates an event when a click operation (pointing operation) by a mouse is performed to any objects in an imaginary space, TimeSensor which generates an event at a preset time or the like.
An editing operation of routing is an operation of adding to a VRML file a routing description for transmitting an event generated in response to a pointing operation to an object to which a sensor node is added or the like.
Description of a script node is an operation of adding to a VRML file a description regarding a script node for delivering an event transmitted by routing to an external script.
Production of a script file is an operation of describing (programming) a script with the Java language (Java is a trademark of Sun Microsystems of the United States) for realizing a behavior set in advance to each object in an imaginary space based on an event transmitted through a script node.
Desired VRML contents are produced through such various operations as described above.
Incidentally, when it is tried to produce VRML contents which involve autonomous behaviors of an object in an imaginary space based on the VRML 2.0, existing authoring software (for example, the 3D Studio Max (trademark) or the like) called modeler is used to produce a shape or animation of the object, and the shape or animation thus produced is outputted as a file of the format of the VRML 2.0. If the modeler does not support the format of the VRML 2.0, then it is necessary to use a converter or the like to convert the produced file into a file of the format of the VRML 2.0.
Then, such operations as to add descriptions of various sensor nodes and so forth prescribed by the VRML 2.0 to a VRML file using a text editor, produce a script with the Java language, add a corresponding script node to the script, add a route sentence and so forth are repeated. Then, finally upon confirmation of actual operation, a VRML browser conforming to the VRML 2.0 is started and the behavior of the object is confirmed by click operations of a mouse and so forth.
Here, when routing editing which associates nodes such as graphics data of a model, scripts and so forth is to be performed, nodes which make objects of the routing are provided with node names (DEF names) in advance, and the node name (NodeName) and a field name (eventOut) of a route source, and the node name and a field name (eventIn) of a route destination are selected using such route editing window as shown in FIG. 23 to effect the addition of a route. As a result, the added route is displayed as a character train in a combo box.
However, where a large number of routes are used, it is difficult to intuitively judge in what manner an event flows through the routes.
Further, in order to add a route, DEF names must be provided without fail to nodes which make objects of the routing, and this requires a lot of time.